The Q Blog

These are a few of my favorite things...

2009-04-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

Today I was just leaving the library at around 7:30 pm and it was really a beautiful spring evening. It has been almost three years since I was in Utah during the spring. Sometimes I think I am a summer guy, sometimes a winter or fall guy, but tonight I was convinced that I am a spring guy.

Tonight I watched The Office. I love that show.

I have this collection of Charvet ties that I received from my brother, who inherited them when his father-in-law passed away. I love those ties.

I communicated with my father today through text messages. I love that he can text message.

I also love great professsors. As the semester comes to a close I have realized how great it has been to go to some of my classes, including my business writing class professor.

Calm before the storm

2009-04-06T07:59:00.001-07:00

So I am actually in my business writing class and we are talking about this blog assignment. I neglected to write in this blog during this past weekend. This weekend was a blast. I played basketball with my friends, went to dinner with my father and my good friend Dee Benson, hung out with my family and mission buddies. Life is so great. However, looking into the future I see an overwhelming amount of work and study. I am kind of unique in the sense that tests are kind of exciting to me. So, with that being said, bring on the storm of finals!

Things I love

2009-03-29T21:25:00.000-07:00

I am making a list of things that I love for the one follower that actually reads my blog. So, in no particular order.

1. Welch's grape soda

2. Free things (this week one of my friends gave me some shirts of his)

3. Witty remarks

4. Wednesday weekly dinner group

5. High School Musical

6. Mission buddies

7. Learning

8. Volleyball

9. Fifa 09 on xbox 360

10. The fact that John Johansen is turning into a dog before my eyes.

VEGAS!

2009-03-15T21:53:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to Las Vegas and I had a blast! I went with one great friend and a bunch of strangers. Who knew you could have so much fun in Sin City without gambling, drinking, or clubbing? Well, we did it that way. We went to the fountains outside the Bellaggio and danced outside a club on The Strip and looked at some botanical gardens inside the Bellagio. Basically, it was one of the best trips that I have ever been on and I am happy that I went. Everything is going my way...

whoa whoa it's magic!!

2009-03-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

This week I was reminded just how much I love magic. You know how a few weeks ago I wrote about how my life was serendipitous? Well, Friday night was proof positive that things are going my way. One day I saw an ad on facebook for a party that was going to have a magician. I didn't know anyone throwing the party nor the magician, but I emailed the guy who was hosting the party and asked if I could attend. He said yes and I went with my good friend Peter Kern. It was a blast. I am somewhat of a magician myself and have done a few shows in the past month. I love magic. I would like to think that I will retain my magical ability the rest of my life.

California dreamin...

2009-02-28T22:32:00.000-08:00

I am writing this from my hotel room here at the Courtyard Marriott in Stockton, California. Due to a last minute change, I was invited to travel with the men's volleyball team. It has been one of greatest trips that I have ever participated in. My roommate is Jeff Robinson and we have had a blast laughing at any and everything. Nothing really noteworthy has occurred, but I just wanted to write down that this has been a blast. Everything from practice to matches, to eating at restaurants with the team and to me doing a magic show. Now that we are heading home tomorrow I will have a new reason to be California dreamin....

Better late than never

2009-02-23T21:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I was supposed to write in this over the weekend but I didn't. For some reason I have yet to find any value in writing in this blog. If writing about my life were therapeutic, I would do it in a private place where no one but myself can read it. I would like to think that my life is an open book, but I guess I have decided that it isn't. There are some things that I just don't want people to know about me. The people who are close to me know nearly all there is to know about me. Therefore, if you would like to know who the guy is behind this superficial blog, send me an email and I would be happy to get to know you.

Valentine's day

2009-02-17T06:40:00.001-08:00

For the first time in years I actually I had a good Valentine's day. My friends and I did a group date that was actually turned out well. We made fondue (kind of), ate pizza, and had chocolate fondue. It was delicious. We had a poetry reading, I did a magic show, and we had a dance and watched a movie. This was a ton better than my last Valentine's in Provo when I ended up eating the chocolate that was intended for a girl that I thought was interested in me. Apparently, I was wrong. Live and learn...

Face to face

2009-02-08T19:17:00.000-08:00

This blog is extraordinarily uninteresting. This is for a myriad of reasons. The first reason is that I am not emotionally invested in writing on a weekly basis into a blog that relatively few people care about. I didn't decide to write in this and don't find myself improving as I write every week. I guess this has taught me something that I already know: communication is ideal for me when it is verbal and face to face. The exciting and interesting experiences that I have are shared with those whom I care about through weekly phone conversations. Perhaps a day will come when the meaningful relationships that I have in my life are so numerous that I need to resort to a blog to keep everyone informed, but until then I will stick to speaking with those people that are special to me and leaving the rest of the random people that read this to my relatively superficial anecdotes about life.

Serenditpitous

2009-02-01T22:08:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I heard a speaker on campus that discussed the origin of the word serendipity. It was intriguing. Apparently rooted in a story known as The Three Princes of Serendip, this word comes from one of the themes in the tale that is as the princes head out on adventures, along the way they are always finding new things and experiencing good fortune and luck. This story seemed to be truly inspiring to me at this point in life. My future is relatively unplanned. I have a general idea but the details are still quite foggy. However, I am confident that my future will continue to be serendipitous. Just this last week I had a great experience with a competition on campus that dealt with global market trading. I heard about it and one of my friends encouraged me to participate. I did and my team took second. The experience was unplanned and unforeseen but turned out to be exciting and interesting. So, as long as I keep moving forward and staying busy, I am sure that I will have my share of luck, good fortune, and serendipity...

Changes...

2009-01-25T13:55:00.000-08:00

Well, the last couple of weeks have been a great teacher of the timeless truth that the only constant we have in our lives is change. Last fall, I was trying out for the men's volleyball team after having redshirted my freshman year before departing on a full time mission. My skills were rusty and I was out of shape, but I felt that I was quickly regaining my talent. However, for various reasons that I will not go into at this moment, I was cut from the team. I was devastated initially, however I quickly found new things to occupy my time and give me a sense of satisfaction. After I was cut, I didn't touch a volleyball or even witness a men's volleyball match on campus. With all of that being said and having officially moved on from the sport that I love, two weeks ago the head coach called me and asked me to come back on play on the team. Unexpected? Extremely, but I of course said yes and am ready for even more changes in the next few months...

The Confusion of Kindness

2009-01-18T08:32:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, after watching volleyball film in preparation for our Saturday night match, I decided to fulfill my business writing assignment. That assignment entailed buying some sort of beverage for a stranger. As I left the Smith Fieldhouse, I stopped by the vending machines and asked a young man of high school age if he wanted a Powerade. He told me that he didn't because he already had a drink. That wasn't really the response I anticipated, nevertheless I was determined to buy a Powerade for a stranger. As I sat waiting at the vending machine I saw a young man walking towards the machines. I bought a Powerade, and as I walked away I handed it to him and asked him if he wanted the drink. He said yes and then asked if I was sure that I wanted to give him the drink. I told him I was sure and gave it to him. A look of happiness and confusion crossed his face and for some reason I found myself completely joyful and energized with the whole experiment.

Let me explain...

2009-01-05T12:09:00.000-08:00

Well, if you know me and find it strange that I have now joined the blogging nation then you are in great company because I as well find it strange that I will now be posting weekly entries about my life. If you check out my facebook profile you will find that I have deliberately chosen to not fill out anything that is not mandatory. I would much rather prefer calling my friends and family as opposed to wall posts, text messaging and blogging. What, then, you may wonder has motivated me to create my own blog? The answer is simple: a requirement for my business writing class.

So, now that I have to do this I am determined to make it interesting, insightful and enjoyable. Those are my hopes for the time being. I guess they are symbolic of where I am at in my life right now: a new semester. So many possibilities, so many opportunities, so much left to the unknown. For right now I envision this blog as something that many of you will find amusing, however, as the semester goes on this blog will inevitably become one more thing to do as my life fills up with the excitement of college life at BYU. Ideally, my writing will capture some of the ups and downs and surprising twists of my near future. So, if you are reading this, I hope that you will continue to join me as I embark on a new semester.